Overview

The brain, with its nearly one hundred billion neurons, is the most complex structure in the universe, and we are living in a period of revolutionary advancements in neuroscience. Yet scientists and skeptics often frame these findings in ways that challenge the Christian worldview. Many professionals and popularizers claim that human beings are their brains, and that all human behavior and experience are merely by-products of brain physiology. In The Brain, the Mind, and the Person Within, professor of psychology Mark Cosgrove not only explains what the brain is and what it does but also corrects common misinterpretations and demonstrates that what we know about the brain coheres with the teachings of Scripture. He contends that humans are unities of soul and body in which both the spiritual and the physical interact. From this perspective, he presents informative overviews of contemporary debates about the brain, including consciousness, free will, “God spots,” personhood, and life after death. The better we understand the brain, the better we understand ourselves and our exquisite design that reflects the wisdom of the Creator. Thoughtful readers will find this to be a fascinating, accessible survey of this unique part of the body and the profound theological and technological issues surrounding it.

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Reviews

We experience a constant barrage of popular media reports suggesting that some 'new scientific study' has proven that a complex aspect of human behavior and experience has been isolated to a particular part of the brain. The implication often is that brains exist but 'we' (as conscious, whole persons that are somehow more than electrochemical impulses) do not. Mark Cosgrove's book unpacks what we know of the vast complexity of the human brain while celebrating the reality of the person who can stand back and decide to explore such gloriously complex questions. He explains thoughtfully and effectively how neuroscientific advances in understanding the complexity of the biological structures and processes of the human brain, when properly understood, inform and expand our understanding of personhood without destroying it. I highly recommend this engaging and wide ranging exploration of the complexity of the brain and mind.--Dr Stanton L. Jones, Author of Psychology: A Student Guide (02/01/2018) With prayerfully discerned wisdom, Mark Cosgrove offers a compelling yet accessible companion to all wanting to wade into the depths of neuroscience. Experts and novices alike will profit from no longer seeing the mind in functional isolation but as a critical partner in what it means to be fully human and thus fully alive.--Dr Todd Ream, Professor of Higher Education Taylor University (02/01/2018) The Brain, the Mind, and the Person Within is a remarkably gentle and humble introduction to consciousness studies. Cosgrove never fails to keep in focus the real object of study in this field--persons. Somehow he manages to make even neuropsychology and philosophy of mind light and engaging. This is no mean feat, given the technicality of those disciplines. I recommend this book both to novices in consciousness studies and those well-versed in the field who would like a refreshingly warm and human discussion of the subject.--James S. Spiegel, Author of The Benefits of Providence and The Making of an Atheist (02/01/2018)

With prayerfully discerned wisdom, Mark Cosgrove offers a compelling yet accessible companion to all wanting to wade into the depths of neuroscience. Experts and novices alike will profit from no longer seeing the mind in functional isolation but as a critical partner in what it means to be fully human and thus fully alive.-- (02/01/2018) We experience a constant barrage of popular media reports suggesting that some 'new scientific study' has proven that a complex aspect of human behavior and experience has been isolated to a particular part of the brain. The implication often is that brains exist but 'we' (as conscious, whole persons that are somehow more than electrochemical impulses) do not. Mark Cosgrove's book unpacks what we know of the vast complexity of the human brain while celebrating the reality of the person who can stand back and decide to explore such gloriously complex questions. He explains thoughtfully and effectively how neuroscientific advances in understanding the complexity of the biological structures and processes of the human brain, when properly understood, inform and expand our understanding of personhood without destroying it. I highly recommend this engaging and wide ranging exploration of the complexity of the brain and mind.-- (02/01/2018) The Brain, the Mind, and the Person Within is a remarkably gentle and humble introduction to consciousness studies. Cosgrove never fails to keep in focus the real object of study in this field--persons. Somehow he manages to make even neuropsychology and philosophy of mind light and engaging. This is no mean feat, given the technicality of those disciplines. I recommend this book both to novices in consciousness studies and those well-versed in the field who would like a refreshingly warm and human discussion of the subject.-- (02/01/2018)

Author Information

Mark Cosgrove is professor of psychology at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, and the author of numerous books, including Foundations of Christian Thought: Faith, Learning, and the Christian Worldview.

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